Coin controlled lock



March 16, 1948. HQ'F'MANN 2,437,742

COIN CONTROLLED LOCK Filed July 25, 1945 7 "AH" 254m Patented Mar. 16, 1948 George Ho'fmann, Boston,

American Locker Company,

Mass, assignor to Inc., Boston, Mass,

a corporation of Delaware Kpp li'cation July 25, 1

945, Serial No. 667,047

9 Claims. (Cl. '70- 370) This invention relates to coin controlled locks and particularly 'to's'uch locks as are employed in checking vending cabinets. As illustrated in my Patent No. 2,222,434, a coin controlled and key operated lock of this nature is employed with each checking cabinet, the lock being secured to the cabinet in position to cooper-ate with the closure door (Fig. 1). When the cabinet is not in use the lock is in unlocked position and the door can be opened for depositing parcels in the cabinet. The depositing of 'a coin in the lock functions to permit the key to be rotated to the door locking position and thereafter to be removed and taken by the "patron as his check.

Parcels left in a cabihet for more than twentyfour hours are removed and stored until called for. Since the prior user in such case has a key, this look must be changed bfore'use of the cabinet can be continued. Heretofor'e the 'lock barrel has been constructed as a permanent part of the lock supporting name and change of lock thus required changing the entire The collector is required to carry a supply of extras for exchange purposes and to return the removed units to the factory and this carrying of frame units has been extremely burdensome. A primary object of my invention resides in an improved coin controlled lock of this nature in which the locking barrel is quickly removable from and interchangeable in the unit whereby requiring the collector to carry a supply of relatively small lock barrels in lieu of the heavy units heretofore required, the invention also including a like removable barrel for the lock employed in securing the-frame to the cabinet.

The locking unit employs a rotary door locking bolt and a further feature of the invention resides in the production of new and ingenious mechanisms associated with the bolt for automatically throwing it to the fully looked and unlocked .positions from either side of dead center. Also associated with the bolt'is a detent adapted normally to prevent its movement from the unlocked position to the door locking position, and associated with the detent is means disposed in door engaging position and automatically "operative tomove the detent to inoperative position when the door is closed, thereby preventing the patron from throwing the bolt to locked position before he has closed the door. The production of a new and improved coin controlled lock employing these novel features comprises a further object of the invention.

These and other features of the invention will be best understood and apprecited from the tolthe door in open lowing description "of a inrer'erred embodiment thereof selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawing whereim- Fig. l is a front elevation of my improved lock unit mounted in a checking cabinet,

Fig. 2 is a side view taken on line 2-2 of 1 and showing the door in closed position,

3 is a like view, partially in section, with position,

Fig. 4 is a rear elevation of the unit,

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 5- -5 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 6 is a frag!!!"e'ntafy plan view of the bolt throwing mechanism,

Fig. '7 is afragrnentary rear elevation thereof,

Fig. 8 illustrates the unit locking mechanism removed from thounit, and

Fig. 9 illustrates the cabinet moved from the locking unit.

In Fig. 11 have illustrated my improved locking unit It as operatively mounted in a parcel checking cabinet It. This unit comprises a frame Hi to the front face of which is secured a front plate it by four bolts 18. The front plate is disposed over and fills an opening through the cabinet wall, the lower "end of the plate being provided with a lip I 9 engaging behind the cabinet wall and the upper end being equipped -with a lock 28 having a locking bolt 2 for engaging behind the cabinetwall, thereby securing the unit in place in the cabinet.

The unit also carries a'lock 2 2 and 'a cooperating bolt 24 for engaging an locking the cabinet door 25 in 'closedp'ositio'n, as illustrated in Fig. l of my Patent 2,222,434. A counter 26 operated by this look is adapted 'to' regis-ter one unit 'ateach actuating cycle of the lock.

The lock barrels 2'8 and 22 are key-operated and each contains key-operated plungers or turnblers for this purpose as described i'n my Patents 2,226,355, 2,298,697 a'd 2,298,698. For reasons heretofore and hereinafter descflbedit is necessary for the collector to remove these locks from looking barrel rethe cabinets and substitute others hailing different lock combinations if and when the keys get into unauthorized hands. fieretofor'e it been the custom and necessary "to remove and exchange the enti e unit when the lock 22 "is to be changed since this look has been constructed as a permanent part of the frame. My present invention provides for conveniently and quickly removing and exchanging theilockingbarrels -26 and 22 from the unit and this novel structure will now be described.

The frame it is Lpro'vided 'with't-wo "cradles as mally to hold the lock in (Fig.

In accordance with my invention the keeper 36 is held in operative position by a detent 40 mounted for vertical movement in the frame and for engagement within a hole 4| in the keeper. A toothed member 42 is rotatably mounted in the frame in toothed engagement with the detent and is adapted to be rotated by an operating handle described.

The bolt 24 is an integral part of an annular member 54 supported independently of the looking barrel 22 for rotation co-axially of the opening 30 by and between the front plate l6 and the frame I 4 as illustrated in Fig. 5. The rear portion of this member is provided with two oppositely disposed notches 56 for receiving the lugs 52. It will be apparent that the lock barrel (Fig. 9) is slidable into and from the cradle 33 from the rear, and I provide a convenient and quickly operated detent 58 for holding it in its foremost and operative position. The detent 58 is mounted to slide vertically in the frame and to engage within a hole 60 in the barrel. A toothed spring is provided with ative on the lock barrel for A one end of a shaft toothed segment 10 fixed to 72 rotatable in the frame is mental teeth '74 on the member 54. An arm 16 main in the retracted It will now be position.

construction and operation as is apparent from the disclosure.

Having thus disclosed my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A coin controlled lock for use with checking cabinets, comprising a frame, a barrel supporting cradle in the frame, means for securing the frame to a checking cabinet having a door for closing the cabinet, a locking bolt carried by the frame for rotation about the longitudinal axis of the cradle to door locked and unlocked positions, a locking barrel removably mounted in the cradle and having an outer portion non-rotatably fixed to the frame and an inner rotatable portion, means supporting the locking bolt in the frame, independently of the locking barrel, for rotation about said axis, cooperating shoulders keying the inner portion to rotate with the locking bolt when the barrel is in operative position in the cradle, and barrel securing means movable to closed and open positions and cooperating in closed position with the barrel to hold it in said operative position, the barrel being removable from the frame and bolt when said means is moved to the open position.

2. The coin controlled lock defined in claim 1 plus resiliently operated means cooperating with the locking bolt to rotate it to the locked and unlocked positions from positions at opposite sides of dead center, and means mounting the resiliently operated means in said cooperating position in the frame independently of the locking barrel.

3. A coin controlled lock for use with checkin cabinets, comprising a frame, a barrel supporting cradle in the frame including a barrel receivin opening, means for securing the frame to a checking cabinet having a door for closing the cabinet, a front plate cooperating with and attached to the front face of the frame and having a barrel receiving opening therethrough in alignment with the cradle opening, a locking bolt carried by the frame rearwardly of the plate and mounted for rotation about the longitudinal axis of said openings to door locked and unlocked positions, a key operated locking barrel mounted in the cradle opening with its forward key-receiving end projecting into said opening in the front plate, the barrel having an outer portion non-rotatably fixed to the frame and a key-operated inner rotatable portion, means supporting the locking bolt in the frame for rotation about said axis independently of the locking barrel, cooperating shoulders keying the inner portion to rotate with the locking bolt when the barrel is in operative position in the cradle, and barrel securing means movable to closed and open positions and cooperating in closed position with the barrel to hold it in said operative position, the barrel being removable from the frame and bolt when said means is moved to the open position.

4. The coin controlled lock defined in claim 3 in which the barrel is removable from the frame longitudinally and rearwardly away from the front plate when the barrel securing means is moved to the open position.

5. The coin controlled lock defined in claim 1 projecting into said opening, the

with and attached and having a lockplus a front plate cooperating to the front face of the frame ing barrel receiving opening therethrough in alignment with the cradle, the locking bolt being disposed between the frame and the front plate, and means on the locking bolt cooperating with means on the frame and front plate for supporting the locking bolt for rotation about said axis independently of the locking barrel.

6. The coin controlled lock defined in claim 1 plus resiliently operated means cooperating with. the locking bolt to rotate it to the tion from an intermediate position, and means mounting the resiliently operated means in said cooperating position in the frame independently of the locking barrel.

7. The coin controlled lock defined in claim 1 plus gear teeth on the locking bolt, a gear segment in toothed engagement with said gear teeth, resilient means cooperating with the gear segment for rotating the locking bolt to the locked and unlocked positions from positions at opposite sides of dead center, and means mounting the gear segment and resiliently operated means in the frame independently of the looking barrel.

8. A coin controlled lock, comprising a frame, a barrel supporting cradle in the frame, a front plate cooperating with and attached to the front face of the frame and having a barrel receiving opening therethrough in alignment with the cradle, a key-operated locking barrel mounted in the cradle with its forward key-receiving end barrel having an outer portion non-rotatably fixed to the frame and a key-operated inner rotatable portion, a locking bolt extending transversely of and fixed to rotate with said inner portion, and a manually movable detent for holding the barrel in operative position in the cradle, the barrelbeing removable from the cradle longitudinally and rearwardly away from the front plate when the detent is withdrawn.

9. The coin controlled lock defined in claim 8 in which said detent is mounted in the frame transversely of and for longitudinal movement toward and into holding engagement with the locking barrel, a rotary element mounted in the frame and having toothed engagement with the detent, rotation of the element in one direction being adapted to engage the detent with the barrel and rotation thereof in the opposite directhe detent from such engagement and permit said removal of the barrel, and an operating handle for rotating said element.

GEORGE HOFMANN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,090,305 Hoffman Mar. 1'7, 1914 1,504,316 Beauchamp Aug. 12, 1924 2,020,260 Larsson Nov. 5, 1935 unlocked posi- 

